Help Me Find a Way
by megsamillion
Summary: Sydney Stark is a 25 year old Associate at Pearson Hardman in Manhattan. During the Chitauri invasion, she nearly shoots one Clint Barton. Being Tony's cousin, Sydney is full of snark. Her apartment gets destroyed during the attack and Tony puts her up in the Tower along with all of the Avengers. Including her new bff, Clint.
1. Prologue

AN: Hi :) This is my very first publication! I've written stories before but haven't had the nerve to post any. I figured I'd just give it a shot with this. Enjoy! And reviews would be lovely. Let me know what you think!

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing except Sydney. All credit goes to Marvel.

**Prologue**

Of course her first day at Pearson Hardman was the day those stupid alien motherfuckers tried to take over the world, starting with Manhattan. That was just her luck.

"My apartment better exist still when this is over, I swear to god," Sydney muttered as she stared up at the ceiling.

She was perched atop Jessica Pearson's desk, glock held loosely in her right hand, when she heard a crash and subsequent string on curses from down the hall. She jumped gracefully off the desk and landed in a crouch. Sydney quietly made her way out into the hall and lithely ran towards the source of the noise. Holding her gun up with both hands, she crept out into the open. Just as she was about to stand up straight, Sydney saw movement and squeezed the trigger. The person – a guy, she realized belatedly – expertly dodged the bullet and raised his hands.

"Whoa, lady. I'm a good guy," He said evenly, staring her down.

Sydney looked him over quickly. The quiver slung across his back was empty but he looked like he would have no qualms with snapping her like a twig. _I mean, come on. Those arms!_ She licked her lips without realizing it, and he chuckled quietly.

She turned her gaze back to his face sharply. "Got a name?"

"Uh… Clint," he answered as he scratched the back of his neck. "Can you put the gun away now?"

"Not yet. And you're a good guy, you say?" She questioned as she pulled her cell – the latest and still unreleased from Stark Industries – out of her back pocket, still aiming her gun at him. She saw him eye the phone and furrow his brow. He glanced back up to her face, curiosity plain in his eyes. She rolled her eyes and hit speed dial #1.

"Hey, Syd. Can't really chat at the moment. I've got aliens on my ass," he said, sounding out of breath.

"Tone, I'm aiming a gun at Legolas. Says he's a good guy. Is he cool, or do I pop a cap in his ass?"

Tony let out a booming laugh and Sydney smiled slightly. "Clint?" She replied in the affirmative. "Yeah, Syd. Legolas is part of the fellowship. Keep him alive, would ya? You should head over to the Tower. I'll make sure JARVIS lets you in to the safe room. Be careful. I'll find you after all these shit pieces are dead," He instructed and hung up.

Clint was just staring at her, eyebrow quirked and arms crossed over his chest. She lowered her gun and pocketed the phone. "What?" She snapped, mimicking his stance.

"You a friend of Stark's or something?" Legolas asked.

"Yeah, or something. I need to get to Stark Tower. You coming?" Syd headed towards the stairwell. He nodded and slung his bow across his back. "Wait. My bag. 2 seconds, Katniss."

She heard him sigh loudly and she snickered as she ran back to Jessica's office. Sydney snatched up her bag and threw it over her head. She pulled out a second glock and tossed it at Clint as she passed.

"Why would you have two guns on you?" He asked as he gripped the firearm.

"When you associate with people like Tony Stark, you tend to be prepared for anything. I also have nun-chuks, pepper spray, and a taser in my bag," She replied smartly and entered the stairwell.

The two silently rushed down the stairs. When they reached the main floor, Clint deftly maneuvered ahead of her gave her the "Stay here" eyes, and disappeared out the door into the main lobby. After a few minutes, Sydney was getting antsy. Just as she was about to bust out and make a run for it, he opened the door.

"All clear. C'mon." He held the door open and she brushed past him. "What's your name, anyways?"

"Sydney," She replied as she allowed him to lead her towards the doors. She was busy staring open mouthed at his backside (_That ass!_) so she didn't realize he had stopped in front of the doors until she ran smack into his back. All the aliens outside had collapsed. Sydney gave a loud whoop of joy as they exited the building. He laughed as he turned to say something to her.

He stopped abruptly, spinning to stare up at the portal, and held his breath.

"What's up, Katniss?"

"C'mon, Stark," He mumbled, jaw clenched.

Sydney stared at the rapidly closing portal and spotted something falling out of it just as it closed completely. It shone red in the sun. "Clint… Is that Tony?" Clint nodded.

Sydney took off in the general direction of Tony at full speed. She heard Clint curse and follow her. As she got closer, the Hulk snatched Tony out of mid-air and disappeared behind the buildings in front of her. She pumped her legs even harder and lost Clint as she rounded the corner. Tony was flat on his back with the Hulk and a pair of big blonde guys staring down at him.

"Tony!" She screeched as she skidded to his side. She ignored the questioning glances from the blondes as she attempted to find his pulse. Before she had a chance to locate it, the Hulk let out a _loud as fuck_ roar.

Tony jumped awake. "What happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me," Tony breathed, his eyes settling on Sydney. "Thought I told you to keep Legolas alive," he smirked, glancing around for Clint.

"I'm here," He panted as he joined the group. She watched him wipe sweat from his forehead. Clint caught her gaze and smirked.

"Glad you were able to catch up, old man," Sydney smirked back at him. "Don't have a heart attack."

Clint's smirk turned into a glare at Sydney's jibe. Tony laughed. "Couldn't keep up with her, huh? Don't take it personally, Katniss. Everyone has trouble keeping up with Starks," Tony shot Syndey a sly grin and wink.

"You're a Stark?" Clint asked, dumbfounded. Sydney nodded.

"So what happened?" Tony spoke up, ignoring the shocked faces around him.

Spangly man answered first. "We won."

"Alright, yay. Alright. Good job, guys. Let's just take a day," He suggested and winced as he tried to move. "Have you ever tried shawarma? There's a great shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I wanna try it," He rambled.

"Tone, it's mediocre," Sydney protested.

"I don't care, Syd. I wanna try it," He argued.

"We're not finished yet," Big, blonde and muscled said.

Tony looked at him, "And then shawarma after."

Sydney watched as the Blondes helped Tony up. Clint silently appeared beside her and she jumped. "Are you normally this quiet?"

"Yeah, usually," He answered brusquely and walked ahead to follow the Blondes and Hulk.

"Man, that _ass_," Sydney moaned quietly to herself.


	2. Chapter 1

AN: Thanks for the reads, follows, and favourites everyone :) I figured I'd post another chapter! Enjoy! Reviews would be welcome. Also, I feel like it's kind of short, but I really wanted to post the next chapter.

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing except Sydney. Everything else = property of Marvel.

* * *

Turned out Sydney's apartment _was_ destroyed during the attack. After the shawarma outing (he had begrudgingly told her she was right: it _was_ mediocre), the team plus Sydney had gone to check out her apartment building. Which was nearly in ruins. She had managed to salvage a few important things: her stuffed sheep coincidentally named Steve, her laptop, a photo album, and a couple of her tattered books. Everything else was either burned or too damaged to be of use.

Tony joined her in what used to be her bedroom. He placed a warm hand on her shoulder. "C'mon, Syd. I'll have JARVIS set you up in a room in the Tower. And I'll see if Pepper wants to do some shopping this weekend. Apparently you need new stuff."

She leaned into his side. "Thanks, Tony. Best cousin ever."

The cousins walked back outside and met up with the rest of the team. Spangly man – she had learned his name was Steve Rogers, or Cap as most of them called him – immediately took the small duffel she had hanging off her shoulder, ignoring her indignant pleas that "Just because I'm a woman doesn't mean I can't carry my things, Spangles".

That had been a month ago. She had successfully moved into – as Tony now called it – Avengers Tower. She had a room on the same floor as Steve's and Clint's. The three shared a huuuuge ass kitchen, complete with all stainless steel appliances that looked as untouched as if they had just been purchased. The kitchen was off the, also, huge ass living room that housed a tv nearly the size of the wall, the comfiest leather couches, and every gaming system available with a floor to ceiling cabinet of games. Sydney had died and gone to gamer heaven when she discovered the living room.

She was currently cooking up a bulk batch of buttermilk pancakes for her and Cap, who was waiting patiently at the island, hands folded on the counter in front of him. Clint hadn't been in his room when she knocked, and if he was, he ignored her.

"So, Cap, how old are you exactly?" Sydney questioned, waving her spatula at him, "'Cause you don't look a day over _holy shit_."

A blush started at Steve's collar bones and spread like wildfire to the top of his head. He ducked his head slightly and coughed. "Um, 25, Miss Stark."

"Seriously? Oh man. You put all 25 year olds to shame," She decided as she set a stack of pancakes in front of Steve. "Including me. Damnit," She sighed and started another pile of pancakes on a new plate.

Steve let out a quiet, reverent moan. "These are incredible. And no one can put you to shame, Miss Stark, least of all me."

"Sydney, Cap. How many times do I have to tell you?" She laughed quietly. "JARVIS?"

"Yes, Miss Stark?" The AI replied.

"Let the team know that there are pancakes if they're hungry. And they have 5 minutes to get here before Steve eats them all!"

"Of course, Miss Stark."

Within a few minutes, Tony and Bruce showed up. She tried not to take Clint and Natasha's absence personally.

"Hey Brucie, still up f or yoga later?" Sydney asked this quiet scientist as she laid a stack of pancakes on his plate.

He smiled slightly and nodded. "Of course, Sydney. Just come find me when you're ready."

"Whoa whoa whoa. Banner, you're old enough to be her father. And you guys are getting all bendy and sweaty together? If I hear of any funny business, I'll… I'll… I don't know what I'll do, but it'll be bad," Tony declared, shooting a mild glare at Bruce.

To his credit, Bruce only blushed a light pink as Sydney snarked back, "Oh Tony, his age wouldn't stop him from keeping up with me, I'm sure," followed by a wink at the doctor. Tony spluttered, eyes wide. "Now sit down, shut up, and eat, Anthony," Sydney grinned as Cap and Bruce laughed at Tony's obedience.

Later that afternoon, Sydney was on her way to the labs in search of Bruce for yoga times. She was rounding the corner one second, then flat on her ass the next. She glared up at Clint's shit eating grin, ready to give him the mother of all beatdowns, when Fury appeared beside him. He didn't even glance at her.

"It's on, Robin Hood," She hissed at Clint as the two men walked over her.

Sydney barged into Bruce's lab, singing as she entered. "Ohhh Brucie!" He didn't even flinch at her entrance, just held his hand up and continued muttering to himself.

She managed to wait a whopping five minutes before she started throwing bits of paper into his tussled hair. Bruce let out a sigh and stood up, shaking the paper out of his hair. "Come on, Syd. Let's go before you start covering me with paper mache again."

She let out an undignified snort. "You know that was funny. Don't try to deny it."

* * *

Clint was just wandering through the tower's air vents when he discovered what the team had dubbed "The Yoga Room". He stared down at the pair. They were both standing tall, each holding their palms together over their hearts. Bruce was wearing loose track pants with no shirt, but it was Sydney that his eyes lingered on.

Sydney was wearing a loose purple t-shirt that stopped above her navel and a pair of tight as sin leggings. Her red hair was pulled back in a ponytail that showed off the pale, freckled skin of her throat. He watched her chest rise and fall, a shining pendant catching the light at the base of her throat. He could see a ring gleaming in her navel and the black, inky beginnings of a tattoo that seemed to span from her ribs down into her leggings.

Clint's breath caught in his throat as he watched her fold forward and step into downward dog. He admired the curve of her back and the skin that was slowly exposed as her shirt rode up. As if commanded, both Sydney and Bruce flowed forward into upward dog. He caught the small smile on her face before he realized she was staring right at him in the air vent.

He scrambled quietly away, unsure how to deal with his reaction to the petite redhead. He had avoided spending time with her as much as possible since the invasion. He found her to be abrasive, obnoxious, and irritating – much like how he found Tony. He decided to just file his reaction away and deal with it later.


	3. Chapter 2

Clint had been on edge for the past few days, still waiting for Sydney to call him out for spying from the vents. When he'd seen her though, all she'd done was give him a polite smile and basically ignore him. He was about to start following her around the tower when Bruce intercepted him.

"Clint, you like Sydney, right?" The Doctor asked, one hand massaging the back of his neck.

"What?" Clint spluttered, completely caught off guard.

"You like her. Yes or no?"

"All depends on why you want to know," Clint answered, eyeing Bruce warily.

"I think she's got a crush on me." Clint narrowed his eyes. "She's a great girl, but I'm not interested in her that way. She's like a little sister. Can you sway her? You know maybe take her out or something?"

Clint's jaw dropped open. "Are you seriously trying to pimp me out as a distraction?"

Bruce blushed a light pink. "No, not exactly. I've seen you watching her. Just ask her out; maybe keep her busy for a while. It'll be good for you both," He nodded and left Clint standing alone in the hallway.

"Awesome."

* * *

"Tony, what do you want? I'm about to leave for work," Sydney grumbled as she met Tony in the kitchen per his request.

"I need you to work for me. We – we being the team – need a liason slash lawyer slash wrangler and you're the perfect candidate. You can't refuse me!" Tony exclaimed, eyes wide and talking fast.

Sydney eyed the mostly empty coffee pot on the counter. "Tony, you've had entirely too much coffee for this early in the morning. And I can't quit my job! I love it. Even though my boss is a psycho jackass… And the pay is awful… And…" Sydney sighed. "Are you being serious, Tony? This is an actual job? You'll pay me for babysitting you fools?"

Tony grinned. "Yes, of course! Perfect! Quit right now! I'll have Pepper get a contract drawn up!"

"Leave her alone at this hour, doofus. I'll quit today. I'll be back this afternoon unemployed. Bye," Syd gave Tony a quick kiss on the top of his head as she passed him.

Later that afternoon, Sydney arrived back at the Tower. She had just gotten off the elevator on her floor when Clint dropped from the ceiling in front of her. She shrieked and haphazardly threw a punch in his direction. She caught him in the shoulder and he grunted.

"Jesus, Syd," He chuckled as he rubbed his shoulder. He gave her a quick onceover. She was dressed for work: a close-fitting charcoal pencil skirt, a loose lilac v-neck blouse, and a pair of sky-high stilettos.

"You need to stop scaring me, Hawkass. One of these days I may actually hurt you," Sydney grumbled as she stepped around him and continued towards her room.

"Wait a sec, Syd." She turned to face him, an eyebrow raised. "Uh, are you busy later? I was thinking we could hang out or something. Maybe get a drink or, I don't know, dinner or something. If not, we can just hang out here or something, or you know, whatever," Clint rambled awkwardly.

Sydney laughed. "I could go for dinner and a drink, or 4. Meet me downstairs at 7. Don't be late or I'll go out alone." She sashayed down the hall and into her room, leaving Clint staring open mouthed after her.

He groaned to himself. She'd actually agreed. Now what was he supposed to do?

* * *

"JARVIS, can you tell Sydney to make sure she doesn't outdress me? We're just going for pizza and beer," Clint asked the AI as he pulled on a pair of dark jeans.

"Of course, Agent Barton," The AI replied.

Clint pulled a long sleeve grey t-shirt over his head and his leather jacket on over it. Shoving his feet into his boots, Clint headed out the door and to the lobby. When he got off the elevator, he started pacing and looking back at the elevators every minute.

The elevator chimed before the doors slid open, revealing Sydney. She was wearing black skinny jeans, a pale yellow v-neck sweatshirt partially concealed by her grey overcoat, and knee-high brown leather boots. She had taken off all of her make-up and her hair was straightened. She smiled at him as she approached.

"Ready to watch me inhale a pizza, Barton?" She grinned as she stopped in front of him.

He cleared his throat. "So ready. You look nice, by the way," He said as he led her out the front door.

"Thanks. You implied uber casual, so I'm wearing my comfiest clothes. I also plan to drink a lot of beer in celebration of my new job," She grinned.

"New job?" Clint asked, raising an eyebrow in her direction.

She was trying to secure a flyaway lock of hair unsuccessfully. Clint stuffed his hands in his pockets to avoid tucking it behind her ear. She grinned as she finally locked it in place. "Yeah, I quit Pearson Hardman. Tony offered me a SI position dealing with you lot of fools. Basically, I'm a babysitter slash lawyer for the team. He thinks I'll be able to keep you guys under control," She chuckled.

"So, that's great. Will you be around the tower more, then?" Clint asked as he ushered her into the pizza parlour.

"I'm not sure yet. I literally only agreed to this today. I haven't had a chance to sit down with Pepper and discuss it. But whatever! I'll be making exponentially more money, and I get to keep hanging around my cousin's super sexy friends," Sydney shot Clint a cheeky grin and a wink.

Clint smirked as they shrugged out of their jackets and sat down in a corner booth. They ordered beer and a large pepperoni pizza. As soon as the pitcher was placed on their table, Sydney poured herself a glass and chugged half of it. Clint just blinked at her.

"We're celebrating me being awesome, which means lots of beer."

He laughed. "Sounds like a plan."

The pair chatted while waiting for their pizza. The conversation started off innocent, going from how school was for Sydney and what it was like for Clint to be living with Tony to discussing their last relationships.

"I mean, he was great. At first. Then he got possessive and controlling. He refused to let me go anywhere without him, he scared off all of my friends, and he put a few bruises on me." At this, Clint almost growled. "Down, boy. He shoved me into a wall, and I kicked him so hard in the nuts, I don't think he'll be procreating any time soon." Sydney waved it off. "It was a few years ago, anyway. When Tony found out, he talked me into learning how to defend myself and always carrying a weapon. What about you? What was your last relationship like?"

Clint didn't want to know the kid's name. If he found out, he may just kill the son of a bitch. He took a deep breath and stared into his half empty glass. They had finished the entire pizza about 20 minutes ago and had gone through 2 full pitchers already.

"I uh… Her name was Bobbi. We met and got married not long after. It was rushed and rash and it didn't last. She wasn't the person I thought she was. She got mixed up with the wrong people and got killed." He glanced up at Sydney's quiet gasp. He shrugged in return. "We weren't together when she died. She did it to herself. There's only so many bad things you can do before people start to come after you," Clint clenched his jaw to stop himself from revealing more.

Sydney placed her delicate fingers on his larger, weather-worn hands. She gave him a small smile when he met her eyes. "Let's finish this pitcher and head to the bar around the corner, yeah? I'm in the mood for a game of pool."

Clint was happy – impressed, even – that Sydney didn't apologize or try to get him to talk any more about Bobbi. He swallowed what was left in his glass and split the contents of the pitcher between the two glasses on the table. "Pool sounds like a great idea."

The pair made it to the bar, drank another 2 pitchers of beer, and played a few games of pool. All of which Clint won. Of course. It was nearing midnight when they decided to head back to the Tower. Clint held up Sydney's coat for her as she tried to put it on while she giggled the whole time.

"I still can't believe you won every game. Maybe next time, I won't drink so much," She laughed, finally buttoning up her coat.

"I'll still kick your ass, Syd," Clint grinned as Sydney threaded her fingers through his.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, Hawkass. Now lead the way home. I'm drunk."

Clint walked her to her door, not wanting to release her hand. She smiled up at him and pushed her arms under his jacket and around his back. Letting out a quiet sigh of contentment as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, she gave him a quick squeeze and pulled back. Clint eyed her as she seemed to be debating something.

"G'night, Clint. Find me tomorrow for lunch or something," Sydney leaned up and pressed her lips against his quickly. She pulled back with a grin and bounded into her room, shutting the door behind her.

Clint headed back to his room and passed a mirror on the way. He froze and looked at himself. He was sporting a doofy grin and slightly pink cheeks. He laughed to himself and continued on to his room.


End file.
